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. 2023 Jul 17;12(7):1198.
doi: 10.3390/antibiotics12071198.

Prevalence of Carbapenemases in Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Isolates from the Kingdom of Bahrain

Nouf Al-Rashed  1 , Khalid M Bindayna  1 , Mohammad Shahid  1 , Nermin Kamal Saeed  2 , Abdullah Darwish  3 , Ronni Mol Joji  1 , Ali Al-Mahmeed  1
Affiliations

Prevalence of Carbapenemases in Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Isolates from the Kingdom of Bahrain

Nouf Al-Rashed et al. Antibiotics (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: Acinetobacter baumannii is regarded as a significant cause of death in hospitals. The WHO recently added carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) to its global pathogen priority list. There is a dearth of information on CRAB from our region.

Methods: Fifty CRAB isolates were collected from four main hospitals in Bahrain for this study. Bacterial identification and antibiotic susceptibility tests were carried out using the BD PhoenixTM and VITEK-2 compact, respectively. Using conventional PCR, these isolates were further screened for carbapenem resistance markers (blaOXA-51, blaOXA-23, blaOXA-24, blaOXA-40, blaIMP, blaNDM, blaVIM, and blaKPC).

Results: All of the isolates were resistant to imipenem (100%), meropenem (98%), and cephalosporins (96-98%), followed by other commonly used antibiotics. All these isolates were least resistant to gentamicin (64%). The detection of resistance determinants showed that the majority harbored blaOXA-51 (100%) and blaIMP (94%), followed by blaOXA-23 (82%), blaOXA-24 (46%), blaOXA-40 (14%), blaNDM (6%), blaVIM (2%), and blaKPC (2%).

Conclusion: The study isolates showed a high level of antibiotic resistance. Class D carbapenemases were more prevalent in our CRAB isolate collection. The resistance genes were found in various combinations. This study emphasizes the importance of strengthening surveillance and stringent infection control measures in clinical settings to prevent the emergence and further spread of such isolates.

Keywords: Acinetobacter baumannii; IMP; KPC; NDM; OXA; VIM; carbapenemases.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) The antibiotic resistance profile of CRAB isolates. (B) The presence of carbapenemases genes in CRAB isolates.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A representative PCR gel (1.5% agarose) showing respective bla-carbapenemase genes. Lane M denotes the molecular weight marker, lane 1 shows representative blaKPC (881 bp), lane 2—blaIMP (484 bp), lane 3—blaNDM (825 bp), lane 4—blaVIM (601 bp), lanes 5 and 6—blaOXA-51 (353 bp), lanes 7, 8, and 9—blaOXA-23 (821 bp), lane 10—blaOXA-24 (809 bp), and lanes 11 and 12—blaOXA-40 (1024 bp).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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